Screen display method and apparatus of a mobile terminal

ABSTRACT

A screen display method and apparatus of a mobile terminal is provided for changing a screen represented by an index to another screen represented by a newly selected index. A screen display method of a mobile terminal includes displaying a page represented by an index, the page including an index region having a plurality of indices and a content region displaying content corresponding to the index highlighted in the index region, selecting a new index in the index region according to a selection input, and changing the page represented by the highlighted index for a new page represented by the new index, the new page appearing in a direction from a position of the new index to a position of the highlighted index.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/275,650 filed on Oct. 18, 2011 which claims priority to, and thebenefit of the earlier filing date, pursuant to 35 USC 119, to thatpatent application entitled “Screen Display Method and Apparatus ofMobile Terminal, filed in the Korean Patent Office on Oct. 20, 2010, andafforded serial number 10-2010-0102405, the contents of which areincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of mobile terminals and, inparticular, to a screen display method and apparatus of a mobileterminal for changing a display screen.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the widespread use of mobile technologies, the mobile terminal hasbecome one of the everyday commodities in modern life. Mobile terminalshave evolved to be multimedia communication devices supporting variousdata transmission and supplementary services as well as traditionalvoice communication service. As the supplementary services supported bythe mobile terminal become more diversified, much research is beingconducted to facilitate receiving and processing user inputs andpresenting information to the user efficiently. Most of the research anddevelopment regarding the user interfaces are directed to theintuitiveness of the user manipulation.

SUMMARY

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a screen displaymethod and apparatus of a mobile terminal that is capable of providingan intuitive presentation for user operation.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a screen displaymethod of a mobile terminal, comprises displaying a page represented byan index, the page including an index region having a plurality ofindices and a content region displaying content corresponding to anindex highlighted in the index region, selecting a new index in theindex region according to a selection input and changing the pagerepresented by the highlighted index with a new page represented by thenew index, the new page appearing in a direction from a position of thenew index to a position of the highlighted index.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a mobileterminal comprises a display unit which displays a page represented byan index, the page including a category region having at least onecategory, and an index region presenting indices subcategorizing thecategory selected in the category region, and a content regionpresenting content corresponding to an index highlighted in the indexregion, a touch sensing unit that detects a touch gesture for selectingan index in the index region and a control unit which controls thedisplay unit to present a new page associated with a new index selectedin the index region, the new page appearing from a position of the newindex to a position of the highlighted index.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a screen display method of the mobileterminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a calendar application screen of themobile terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operation ofa calendar application when an index positioned to the right of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operation ofa calendar application, when an index positioned to the left of thecurrently highlighted index is selected, in the mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a weekly view screen change operationof a calendar application when an index positioned to the right of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is diagram illustrating a weekly view screen change operation ofa calendar application when an index positioned to the left of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a monthly view screen change operationof a calendar application when an index positioned to the right of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a monthly view screen change operationof a calendar application when an index positioned to the left of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application when an index positioned to the right of thecurrently highlighted index is selected with a drag gesture in themobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application when a today button is selected in the statewhere the Day category is activated in the mobile terminal according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application, when an index positioned to the left of thecurrently highlighted index is selected, in the mobile terminalaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application, when an index positioned below the currentlyhighlighted index is selected in the index region configured in avertical direction, in the mobile terminal according to an embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application, when an index positioned above the currentlyhighlighted index is selected in the index region configured in avertical region in the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although the description is directed to a mobile terminal in thefollowing description, the present invention is not limited thereto butcan be applied to all the kinds of the devices equipped with atouchscreen. According to an embodiment of the present invention, themobile terminal is one of a number of different types of informationcommunication devices and multimedia devices such as atouchscreen-enabled device and, preferably, can be a cellular phone, aPortable Multimedia Player (PMP), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), aSmartphone, and a MP3 player. Particularly, the present invention can beapplied to the portable devices equipped with an intermediate or largesize display equal to or greater than 7 inches as well as a small sizedisplay equal to or smaller than 4 inches.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile terminal100 according to an embodiment of the preset invention includes a RadioFrequency (RF) unit 110, an audio processing unit 120, a storage unit130, a touchscreen 140, a key input unit 150, and a control unit 160.

The RF unit 110 is responsible for transmitting and receiving radiosignals carrying data. The RF unit 110 includes an RF transmitter forup-converting and amplifying transmit signals and an RF receiver for lownoise amplifying and down-converting received signals. The RF unit 110outputs the data received over the radio channel to the controller 160and transmits the data output by the controller 160 over a network (notshown).

The audio processing unit 120 includes a codec pack, and the codec packcan include a data codec (not shown) for processing packet data and anaudio codec (not shown) for processing audio signals including voice.The audio processing unit 120 converts a digital audio signal into ananalog audio signal by means of the audio codec so as to play out ananalog audio signal through a speaker in the form of an audible soundwave and converts the analog audio signal input through a microphone(MIC) into the digital audio signal.

The storage unit 130 stores the programs and data necessary for theoperations of the mobile terminal 100 and can be divided into a programregion (not shown) and a data region (not shown). The program regionstores the programs for controlling general operations of the mobileterminal, an Operating System (OS) for booting up the mobile terminal,applications programs necessary for playing multimedia contents, andother application programs necessary for supporting other functions ofthe mobile terminal 100. For example, such other functions may be acamera function, an audio playback function, and a still image and/or amotion picture (video) playback function. The data region stores thedata generated as a result of the operation of the mobile terminal 100.For example, the data region may include information regarding stillimages, motion pictures (video data), phonebook, and audio data.

The touchscreen 140 includes a touch sensing unit 141 and a display unit142. The touch sensing unit 141 detects a touch input made by the user.The touch sending unit 141 can be implemented with one of a touch sensor(such as capacitive overlay touch sensor, resistive overlay touchsensor, and infrared beam touch sensor) and a pressure sensor. The touchsensing unit 141 also can be implemented with any of the sensors thatcan detect the contact or pressure on the screen made by an object. Thetouch sensing unit 141 can detect a user input made by a user's touchgesture and generates an input signal to the control unit 160. The inputsignal includes the coordinates defining the position at which the touchinput is made. In case that a movement touch gesture is detected, thetouch sensing unit 141 generates an input signal that includescoordinates on the path of the movement touch gesture to the controlunit 160. In an embodiment of the present invention, the movement touchgesture can be categorized into one of two categories: flick in whichthe speed of the movement touch gesture is equal to or greater than apredetermined value and a drag in which the speed of the movement touchgesture is less than the predetermined value.

The display unit 142 can be implemented with one of a Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD), an Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED), and an ActiveMatrix OLED (AMOLED) and presents the menus, user input data, functionssettings information, and other information to the user in visual dataformat. The display unit 142 is responsible for outputting a bootingscreen, a standby screen, a menu screen, a call progressing screen, andother application execution screens. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the display unit 142 can provide a screen composed of acategory region having categories classified according to the top mostconceptual classification criteria, an index region presenting theindices belonged to the currently selected category, and a contentregion presenting the content indicated by the currently highlightedindex, as will be further discussed.

The key input unit 150 receives a key input made by the user formanipulating the mobile terminal 100 and, as a consequence, generates aninput signal to the control unit 160. The key input unit 150 can beimplemented with a key pad having alphanumeric and navigation keys andadditional function keys formed at a side of the mobile terminal 100. Incase that the mobile terminal 100 is configured so as to be fullymanipulated by means of the touchscreen 140, the key input unit 150 canbe omitted according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The control unit 160 controls the operations of the mobile terminal.According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit160, which may be represented as a processor or a computer, controls thedisplay unit 142 to display the screen composed of a category regionhaving the categories classified according to the top most conceptualclassification criteria, index region presenting the indices belonged tothe currently selected category, and a content region presenting thecontent indicated by the currently highlighted index. When a touchgesture for selecting one of the indices, except for the currentlyhighlighted index, is detected by means of the touch sensing unit 141,the control unit 160 controls the display unit 142 such that the contentcorresponding to the selected index is presented in a direction from theselected index to the originally highlighted index. In case that theindices are arranged in series in a horizontal direction, the controlunit 160 controls the display unit 142 such that the contentcorresponding to the index selected by the user appears in the directionfrom left to right, when the user selects the index positioned to theleft of the currently highlighted index, and controls the display unit142 such that the content corresponding to the index selected by theuser appears in the direction from right to left, when the user selectsthe index positioned to the right of the currently highlighted index.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a screen display method of the mobileterminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the control unit 160 controls the display unit 142to display a screen composed of the category region having thecategories classified according to the top most conceptualclassification criteria, an index region presenting the indices belongedto a currently selected category, and a content region presenting thecontent indicated by the currently highlighted index (201). The indexregion presents the indices in which one index is highlighted. Accordingto an embodiment of the present invention, the index region can beconfigured such that the indices are arranged in series in a horizontaldirection or a vertical direction.

According to the illustrated embodiment shown, the display screen iscomposed of the category region arranged on the top, the content regionbelow the category region, and the index region below the contentregion. According to another embodiment of the present invention, thedisplay screen may be composed of the category region on the top, thecontent region and index region positioned horizontally below thecategory region, the index region being located left or right of thecontent region. The display screen also can be configured such that theindex region, the content region, and the category region are arrangedin series from left to right. The display screen also can be configuredsuch that the category region, the content region, and the index regionare arranged in series from right to left.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the display screencan be a schedule management screen, for example. In this case, thecategory region can include the categories of ‘date’, ‘week’, and‘month’; the index region can include the indices of 1 to 31 for dates,indices of ‘Sep 1-7, Sep 8-14, . . . for weeks, indices of Jan, Feb,Mar, . . . , Dec’ for months; and the content region can include dailyschedule content, weekly schedule content, and monthly schedule content,respectively. The content arranged in the content region may beconfigured in the form of a card item representing a combination of thecontent in the content region and an index list in the index region.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a calendar application screen of themobile terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.The calendar application screen of FIG. 3 includes a category region, anindex region, and a content region. The category region includes thecategories of Date, Week, Month, and List. The category of Date is thecategory to show the daily schedule, the category of Week is thecategory to show the weekly schedule, and the category of Month is thecategory to show the monthly schedule. Meanwhile, the category of Listis the category to show the list of the items representing individualschedules. In FIG. 3, the category region is provided with a Today keyarea (i.e, a tab). The Today key area is a navigation key to move to thecurrent date (i.e., today) to show the contents belonging to the currentdate quickly.

The index region includes the date indices of 1, 2, 3, . . . categorizedinto the Date category and arranged in series with a currently selectedindex, e.g. 16, highlighted.

In the content region, the currently selected index of ‘16’ ispresented. The content region can be configured into an item as is shownor combined with the index list in the form of a card. The contentregion of FIG. 3 is composed of an organizer section presenting theitems scheduled hourly and an ‘All date’ section presenting all of theitems scheduled for the corresponding date. The content of FIG. 3 alsoincludes a date indication section providing date information, e.g., 16Wednesday 2010 Apr.′, and a new item key for creating a new item.

In this illustrative embodiment of the present invention (i.e., acalendar application screen) the display screen is composed of the indexregion and the content region without the category region.

After displaying a calendar application screen composed of the indexregion, and content region at step 201 (with or without the categoryregion), the control unit 160 monitors the system to detect a key inputfor selecting one of the indices (202). The user can make a tap gestureto select an index on the display screen or a touch-and-move gesture inwhich a touch is made and then lifted after moving onto the targetindex. In case of the mobile terminal is configured without touchscreen(or in the case when an auxiliary key input is available as a supplementto a mobile terminal with a touchscreen), the control unit 160 canrecognize the index selected by the user based on the key input made bymeans of the key input unit 150.

If an input (via the touchscreen or a key input device) for selecting anindex is detected (step 202), the control unit 160 controls the displayunit 142 such that the content corresponding to the selected indexappears in the direction from the selected index position to thehighlighted index position (203). That is, the control unit 160determines the relative position of the index selected by the user withreference to the currently highlighted index and changes the display inan appropriate direction. In case that the indices are arranged in thehorizontal direction (i.e., from left to right or right to left), thecontrol unit 160 determines whether the index selected by the user ispositioned to the left, or to the right, of the currently highlightedindex. In case that the indices are arranged in the vertical direction(i.e., from top to bottom or bottom to top), the control unit 160determines whether the index selected by the user is positioned above orbelow the currently highlighted index.

The control unit 160, next, controls the display unit 142 such that thecontent corresponding to the selected index appears on the screen in thedirection from the selected index to the currently highlighted index. Incase that the indices are arranged horizontally, (e.g., from left toright), the control unit 160 controls the display unit 142 such that thecontent corresponding to the selected index appears in the directionfrom left to right when the selected index is positioned to the left ofthe currently highlighted index and in the direction from the right toleft when the selected index is positioned to the right of the currentlyhighlighted index. In case that the indices are arranged vertically(e.g., from top to bottom), the control unit 160 controls the displayunit 142 such that the content corresponding to the selected indexappears in the direction from top to bottom when the selected index ispositioned above the currently highlighted index and in the directionfrom bottom to top when the selected index is positioned below thecurrently highlighted index.

When the content appears, the control unit 160 can control the displayunit 142 such that the content corresponding to the selected index ispresented so as to be laid over (overlay) the previously displayedcontent. That is, the control unit 160 can control the display unit 142such that the content of the index selected by the user covers up thepreviously display content without removing the previous content.

The control unit 160 also can control the display unit 142 such that thecontent region and the index region are modified while maintaining thepresentation of the category region. In case that the content and theindex list is configured as an item in the form of a card, when the userselects one of the indices, the control unit 160 controls the displayunit 142 such that a card formed by combining the index list in whichthe selected index is highlighted and the content corresponding to theselected index appears over the previously displayed card.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operation ofa calendar application when an index positioned to the right of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

Part [a] of FIG. 4 is identical with FIG. 3. In part [a] of FIG. 4, thedaily view screen includes the category region in which the Day tap areais selected, the index region in which the index of “16” is selected,and the content region presenting the items scheduled for the date of2010.04.16. The daily schedule includes the items entitled ‘Weeklymeeting’, ‘Lunch with kyusung’, and ‘worldcup!!!’. The scheduled itemsare presented in both the hourly organizer section and the ‘All date’section. If the user makes a tap gesture to the index of “17” on thescreen in the state of part [a] of FIG. 4, the page configured with theindex list in which the index of “17” is highlighted and the contentincluding the items scheduled for the date of 2010.04.17 appears in thedirection from right to left as shown in part [b] of FIG. 4. Since theselected index of “17” is positioned to the right of the currentlyhighlighted index of “16,” the card corresponding to the date of2010.04.17 appears on the screen in the direction from right to left.Part [b] of FIG. 4 shows the card corresponding to the date of2010.04.17 which is appearing on the screen in the direction from rightto left. As the page corresponding to the date of 2010.04.17 appearsfrom right to left, the content including the items scheduled on thedate of 2010.04.17 overlays the content including the items scheduled onthe date of 2010.04.16 gradually from right to left, and the index listin which the index of “17” is highlighted overlays the index list inwhich the index of “16” was highlighted.

Part [c] of FIG. 4 shows the screen on which the page of the date of2010.04.16 has been replaced by the page of the date of 2010.04.17. Thepage of the date of 2010.04.17 includes the items entitled ‘Lunch withMinjung’ and ‘Dinner with changmin’.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operation ofa calendar application, when an index positioned at the left of thecurrently highlighted index is selected, in the mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

Part [a] of FIG. 5 is identical with part [a] of FIG. 4 in which thedaily view screen configured in the form of a page including thecategory region in which the Day tap area is selected, the index regionin which the index of “16” is highlighted, and the content regionpresenting the items scheduled for the date of 2010.04.16. When the usermakes a tap gesture to the index of “13” on the screen in the state ofpart [a] of FIG. 5, the page configured with the index list in which theindex of “13” is highlighted and the content including the itemsscheduled for the date of 2010.04.13 appears in the direction from leftto right as shown in part [b] of FIG. 5. Since the selected index of“13” is positioned to the left of the currently highlighted index of“16,” the card corresponding to the date of 2010.04.13 appears on thescreen in the direction from left to right. Part [2] of FIG. 5 shows thecard corresponding to the date of 2010.04.13 which appears on the screenin the direction from left to right. As the page of the date of2010.04.13 appears from left to right, the content including the itemsscheduled on the date of 2010.04.13 overlays the content including theitems scheduled on the date of 2010.04.16 gradually from the left to theright, and the index list in which the index of “13” is highlightedoverlays the index list in which the index of “16” was highlighted.

Part [c] of FIG. 5 is shows the screen on which the page of the date of2010.04.16 has been replaced by the page of the date of 2010.04.13. Thepage of the date of 2010.04.13 includes the items entitled ‘Lunch withWooyoung’ and ‘Cinema’.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a weekly view screen change operationof a calendar application when an index positioned at the right of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

In part [a] of FIG. 6, the weekly view screen is composed of thecategory region in which the Week tap area is selected, the index regionin which the index of ‘Sep 8-14’ is selected, and the content region inwhich the items scheduled for the week of Sep. 8-14, 2010. The weeklyschedule for Sep. 8-14, 2010 includes the items entitled ‘Weeklymeeting’, ‘Lunch with kyusung’, and ‘worldcup!!!’. If the user makes atap gesture on the index of ‘Sep 21-27’ on the screen in the state ofpart [a] of FIG. 6, the page configured with the index list in which theindex of ‘Sep 21-27’ is highlighted and the content including the itemsscheduled for the week of September 21-27, 2010 appears in the directionfrom right to left as shown in part [b] of FIG. 6. Since the selectedindex of ‘Sep 21-27’ is positioned to the right of the currentlyhighlighted index of ‘Sep 8-14’, the card corresponding to the week ofSep. 21-27, 2010 appears on the screen in the direction from right toleft. Part [b] of FIG. 6 shows the card corresponding to the week ofSeptember 21-27, 2010 which appears on the screen in the direction fromright to left. As the page of the week of Sep. 21-27, 2010 appears fromright to left, the content including the items scheduled for Sep. 21-24,2010 overlays the content including the items scheduled for September8-14 gradually from right to left, and the index list in which the indexof Sep 21-27 is highlighted gradually overlays the index list in whichthe index of Sep 80-14 was highlighted, from right to left.

Part [c] of FIG. 6 shows the weekly view screen on which the page of theweek of Sep. 8-14, 2010 has been replaced by the page of the week ofSep. 21-27, 2010. The page of the week of Sep. 21-27, 2010 includes theitems entitled ‘Date’, ‘Cinema’, and ‘Wedding’.

FIG. 7 is diagram illustrating a weekly view screen change operation ofa calendar application when an index positioned at the left of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

In part [a] of FIG. 7, the weekly view screen is composed of thecategory region in which the Week tap area is selected, the index regionin which the index of ‘Sep 8-14’ is selected, and the content regionincludes the items scheduled for the weeks of Sep. 8-14, 2010. If theuser makes a tap gesture to the index of ‘Sep 1-7’ on the screen in thestate of part [a] of FIG. 7, the page configured with the index list inwhich the index of ‘Sep 1-7’ is highlighted and the content includingthe items scheduled for the week of the Sep. 1-7, 2010 appears in thedirection from left to right as shown in part [b] of FIG. 7. Since theselected index of ‘Sep 1-7’ is positioned to the left of the currentlyhighlighted index of ‘Sep 8-14’, the card corresponding to the week ofSep. 1-7, 2010 appears on the screen in the direction from left toright. Part [b] of FIG. 7 shows the card corresponding to the week ofSep. 1-7, 2010 which appears on the screen in the direction from left toright. As the page of the week of Sep. 1-7, 2010 appears from left toright, the content including the items scheduled for Sep. 1-7, 2010gradually overlays the content including the items scheduled forSeptember 8-14 from left to right, and the index list in which the indexof Sep 1-7 is highlighted gradually overlays the index list in which theindex of Sep 8-14 was highlighted.

Part [c] of FIG. 7 shows the weekly view screen on which the page of theweek of Sep. 8-14, 2010 has been replaced by the page of the week ofSep. 1-7, 2010. The page of the week of Sep. 1-7, 2010 includes theitems entitled ‘Soccer’ and ‘Baseball’.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a monthly view screen change operationof a calendar application when an index positioned to the right of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

In part [a] of FIG. 8, the monthly view screen is composed of thecategory region in which the Month tap area is selected, the indexregion in which the index of ‘Sep’ is selected, and the content regionin which the items scheduled for the month of September 2010. Themonthly schedule for September 2010 includes the items entitled ‘Weeklymeeting’, ‘Lunch with bong’, ‘worldcup!!!’, and ‘lunch meeting’. If theuser makes a tap gesture to the index of ‘Dec’ on the screen in thestate of part [a] of FIG. 8, the page configured with the index list inwhich the index of ‘Dec’ is highlighted and the content including theitems scheduled for the month of September 2010 appears in the directionfrom right to left as shown in part [b] of FIG. 8. Since the selectedindex of ‘Dec’ is positioned to the right of the currently highlightedindex of ‘Sep’, the card corresponding to the month of December 2010appears on the screen in the direction from right to left. Part [b] ofFIG. 8 shows the card corresponding to the month of December 2010 whichappears on the screen in the direction from right to left. As the pageof the month of December 2010 appears from right to left, the contentincluding the items scheduled for December 2010 gradually overlays, fromright to left, the content including the items scheduled for September2010, and the index list in which the index of December is highlightedgradually overlays, from right to left, the index list in which theindex of Sep was highlighted.

Part [c] of FIG. 8 shows the monthly view screen on which the page ofthe month of September 2010 has been replaced by the page of the monthof December 2010. The page of the month of December 2010 includes theitem entitled ‘Ski’.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a monthly view screen change operationof a calendar application when an index positioned at the left of thecurrently highlighted index is selected in the mobile terminal accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

In part [a] of FIG. 9, the monthly view screen is composed of thecategory region in which the Month tap area is selected, the indexregion in which the index of ‘Sep’ is selected, and the content regionin which the items scheduled for the month of September 2010. If theuser makes a tap gesture to the index of ‘Jan’ on the screen in thestate of part [a] of FIG. 9, the page configured with the index list inwhich the index of ‘Jan’ is highlighted and the content including theitems scheduled for the month of January 2010 appears in the directionfrom left to right as shown in part [b] of FIG. 9. Since the selectedindex of ‘Jan’ is positioned to the left of the currently highlightedindex of ‘Sep’, the page corresponding to the month of January 2010appears on the screen in the direction from left to right. Part [b] ofFIG. 9 shows the page corresponding to the month of January 2010 whichappears on the screen in the direction from left to right. As the pageof the month of January 2010 appears from left to right, the contentincluding the items scheduled for January 2010 gradually overlays, fromleft to right, the content including the items scheduled for September202, and the index list in which the index of Jan is highlightedgradually overlays, from left to right, the index list in which theindex of Sep was highlighted.

Part [c] of FIG. 9 shows the monthly view screen on which the page ofthe month of September 2010 has been replaced by the page of the monthof January 2010. The page of the month of January 2010 includes the itementitled ‘Weekly movie’.

When the category of ‘Month’ and the index of a certain month areselected respectively in the category region and the index region, thecontrol unit 160 controls the display unit 142 such that the monthlyview screen having the items scheduled in the corresponding month isdisplayed. For example, the control unit 160 controls the display unit142 such that the monthly view screen, including the calendar of themonth and the list of the items (scheduled for the month) arranged belowthe monthly calendar. If the user selects a certain date on the monthlycalendar, the control unit 160 controls the display unit 142 such thatthe selected date is highlighted and presents the items scheduled on theselected date in a schedule information section.

Part [a] of FIG. 8 shows an exemplary monthly view page composed on amonthly calendar and a schedule information section. The date of 16September is highlighted in the monthly calendar, and the scheduleinformation on 16 September is presented in the schedule informationsection below the calendar. If the date of 9 September is selected bythe user in the state of part [a] of FIG. 8, the schedule information on16 September is replaced by the schedule information associated with 9September in the schedule information section.

In case of the mobile terminal equipped with a display unit having ahorizontal width that is longer than the vertical length (i.e., alandscape mode), the control unit 160 can control the display unit 142such that the schedule information section is arranged to the left or tothe right of the monthly calendar. According to an embodiment of thepresent invention, the display unit 142 can be configured to display ayearly calendar view button in the content region such that, when theuser selects the yearly calendar view button, the control unit 160controls the display unit 142 to present a yearly calendar in fullscreen mode without the schedule information section.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the index selectioncan be made with a drag gesture as well as the tap gesture on thescreen. If a touch gesture is detected by means of the touch sensingunit 141, the control unit 160 determines whether the touch gesture is atap gesture or a touch-and-move gesture and, if the touch gesture is atouch-and-move gesture, the control unit 160 controls the display unit142 to show the cursor at the end position of the touch-and-movegesture. At this time, the control unit 160 controls the display unit142 to keep the presentation status of the content region. Afterward, ifa lift-off of the touch is detected by means of the touch sensing unit141, the control unit controls the display unit 142 such that thecurrently presented schedule information is replaced by the scheduleinformation corresponding to the index at which the lift-off of thetouch is detected.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application when an index positioned to the right of thecurrently highlighted index is selected with a drag gesture in themobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In part [a] of FIG. 10, the daily view screen includes the categoryregion in which the Day tap area is selected, the index region in whichthe index of 16 is selected, and the content region in which the itemsscheduled for the date of 2010.04.16. Part [a] of FIG. 10 shows thedaily view screen on which a drag gesture has been made from the indexof 6 to the index of 16 in the index region, and part [b] of FIG. 10shows the daily view screen when the drag gesture is extended to index17. Part [c] of FIG. 10 shows the daily view screen change when the draggesture is released on the index 17. In part [c] of FIG. 10, the pageconfigured with the index list in which the index 17 is highlighted andthe content including the items scheduled for the date of 2010.04.17appears in the direction from right to left. Part [d] of FIG. 10 showsthe daily view screen in which the page associated with the date of2010.04.16 has been completely replaced by the page associated with thedate of 2010.04.17. Parts [c] and [d] of FIG. 10 show the daily viewscreens identical with those of parts [b] and [c] of FIG. 4, and thusthe descriptions on the daily view screens of parts [b] and [c] of FIG.4 can be applied to parts [c] and [d] of FIG. 10.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the user cannavigate to the page of a select date by selecting a button provided inthe content region rather than selecting an index associated with thedate in the index region. For example, the display unit 142 can displaya ‘today schedule view button’. If the user selects the ‘today scheduleview button’, the control unit 160 recognizes the selected date by meansof the touch sensing unit 141 and determines whether the currentlyhighlighted date is earlier or later than “Today.” If the currentlyhighlighted date is later than “Today,” the control unit 160 controlsthe display unit 142 such that the page composed of the index region inwhich “today” is highlighted and the content region presenting the itemsscheduled for “Today” appears in the direction from right to left.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application when a “today” button is selected in a statewhere the Day category is activated in the mobile terminal according toan embodiment of the present invention.

In part [a] of FIG. 11, the daily view screen is configured with a pageincluding the category region in which the Day tap area is selected, theindex region in which the index of 16 is selected, and the contentregion in which the items scheduled for the date of 2010.04.16. Part [a]of FIG. 11 shows the daily view screen on which the ‘Today’ button(i.e., tab) is selected by the user. Part [b] of FIG. 11 shows the dailyview screen in which the page of the date of 2010.04.16 is beingreplaced by the page of today in response to the selection of the‘Today’ button. Assuming that today is Apr. 17, 2010 (2010.04.17), thepage composed of the index region in which the index of 17 ishighlighted and the content region having the items scheduled for thedate of 2010.04.17 appears in the direction from right to left. Part [c]of FIG. 11 shows the daily view screen in which the page of the date of2010.04.16 has been completely replaced by the page of the date of2010.04.17. Parts [b] and [c] of FIG. 11 show the daily view screensidentical with those of parts [b] and [c] of FIG. 4 and thus thedescriptions on the daily view screens of parts [b] and [c] of FIG. 4can be identically applied to those of FIG. 11.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit160 controls the display unit 142 such that only the highlight movesfrom the old index to the new index while the content region is changedunlike the case of FIG. 4 in which, when the page of the date of2010.04.16 is replaced by the page of the date of 2010.04.17, the pageconfigured with the index region in which the index of 17 is highlightedand the content region including the items scheduled for the date of2010.04.17 appears in the direction from right to left. This means thatthe index list of the index region is replaced by a new index list.

The control unit 160 can control the operation of the screen such thatthe page configured with content corresponding to the date of 2010.04.17appears on the screen of the display unit 142 while the highlight movesfrom the index 16 to the index 17 in the index region.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application, when an index positioned to the left of thecurrently highlighted index is selected according to another embodimentof the present invention.

Part [a] of FIG. 12 is identical to part [a] of FIG. 4, and thedescription on part [a] of FIG. 4 is identically applied to part [a] ofFIG. 12, and is repeated as if in full, here. The daily view screen ofpart [a] of FIG. 12 is configured with a page including the categoryregion in which the Day tap area is selected, the index region in whichthe index 16 is highlighted, and the content region presenting the itemsscheduled for the date of 2010.04.16. Part [a] of FIG. 12 shows thedaily view screen on which the user makes a tap gesture on the index 17,part [b] of FIG. 12 shows the daily view screen on which the page havingthe content region presenting the items scheduled for the date of2010.04.17 appears in the direction from right to left, and part [c] ofFIG. 12 shows the daily view screen on which the page associated withthe date of 2010.04.16 has been completely replaced by the pageassociated with the date of 2010.04.17. It is noted that the index listis not replaced but only the highlight moves from the index 16 to theindex 17 in part [b] of FIG. 12.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the index regioncan be configured such that the indices are arranged in verticaldirection rather than horizontal direction. In this case, the controlunit 160 detects the selection of an index by means of the touch sensingunit 141, determines whether the selected index is positioned above orbelow the currently highlighted index, and controls the operation suchthat the page of the date indicated by the selected index appears in thedirection from top to bottom when the selected index is positioned abovethe currently highlighted index and in the direction from bottom to topwhen the selected index is positioned below the currently highlightedindex. At this time, the control unit 160 configures the page having theindex region in which the selected index is highlighted and the contentregion presenting the items scheduled for the date corresponding to theselected index and controls the display unit 142 such that theconfigured page appears in the direction from top to bottom of the dailyview screen.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application, when an index positioned below the currentlyhighlighted index is selected in the index region configured in verticaldirection, in the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Part [a] of FIG. 13 shows the daily view screen configured with a pageincluding the category region in which the Day tap area is selected, theindex region in which index 16 is selected, and the correspondingcontent region illustrates the items scheduled for the date of2010.04.16. Part [b] of FIG. 13 shows the daily view screen on which thepage having the index region in which the index 17 is highlighted andthe content region presenting the items scheduled for the date of2010.04.17 appears in the direction from the bottom to the top of thescreen when the index 17 is selected by the user. Part [c] of FIG. 13shows the daily view screen on which the page of the date of 2010.04.16is completely replaced by the page of the dated of 2010.04.17.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a daily view screen change operationof a calendar application, when an index positioned above the currentlyhighlighted index is selected in the index region configured in verticalregion, in the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Part [a] of FIG. 14 shows the daily view screen configured with a pageincluding the category region in which the Day tap area is selected, theindex region in which the index of 16 is selected, and the correspondingcontent region illustrates the items scheduled for the date of2010.04.16.

Part [b] of FIG. 14 shows the daily view screen on which the page havingthe index region in which the index of 13 is highlighted and the contentregion presenting the items scheduled for the date of 2010.04.13 appearsin the direction from the top to the bottom of the screen when the indexof 13 is selected by the user. Part [c] of FIG. 14 shows the daily viewscreen in which the page of the date of 2010.04.16 is completelyreplaced by the page of the dated of 2010.04.13.

Although the description has been directed to the schedule managementscreen, the present invention is not limited thereto but can be appliedto various applications such as a music playback application, a videoplayback application, a phonebook application, and a massagingapplication. In case of the music playback application, the categoryregion can present the categories of ‘name’, ‘genre’, and ‘year’; andthe ‘genre’ category can be further categorized into subcategories suchas ‘Ballad’, ‘Jazz’, and ‘Rock’. The indices can be arrangedhorizontally in alphabetical order such that, when the index of a balladis selected while the index associated with “Jazz” is highlighted, thepage configured for ballads appears in the direction from left to rightand, when the index associated with “Rock” is selected, the pageconfigured for “Rock” appears in the direction from right to left.

The above-described methods according to the present invention can berealized in hardware or via the execution of software or computer codethat can be stored in a recording medium such as a CD, a ROM, a RAM, afloppy disk, a hard disk, or a magneto-optical disk or downloaded over anetwork, so that the methods described herein can be rendered in suchsoftware using a general purpose computer, or a special processor or inprogrammable or dedicated hardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would beunderstood in the art, the computer, the processor or the programmablehardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash, etc. that maystore or receive software or computer code that when accessed andexecuted by the computer, processor or hardware implement the processingmethods described herein. The code when loaded into a general purposecomputer transformed the general purpose computer into a special purposecomputer that may in part be dedicated to the processing shown herein.

In the screen display method and apparatus of the present invention,when a content page is changed for another content page, the new contentpage appears in the same direction as index arrangement direction,whereby the user can input the screen change command intuitively,resulting in improvement of manipulation intuitiveness. While there hasbeen shown, described, and pointed out fundamental novel features of thepresent invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it willbe understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes inthe apparatus described, in the form and details of the devicesdisclosed, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in theart without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It isexpressly intended that all combinations of those elements that performsubstantially the same function in substantially the same way to achievethe same results are within the scope of the invention. Substitutions ofelements from one described embodiment to another are also fullyintended and contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for navigating contents in a mobiledevice, the method comprising: displaying, on a display of the mobiledevice, a current screen including an index region displaying aplurality of values, and a content region, the content region displayingcurrent content corresponding to a visually distinguished one of thevalues; detecting a selection input of a new value on the index region;determining a slide direction of new content to be displayed, bycomparing a difference between the selected new value and the visuallydistinguished one of the values, wherein the new content corresponds tothe selected new value; and changing the current screen into a newscreen, the new screen containing the new content, wherein the newcontent appears in the determined slide direction in a manner in which aportion of the new content and a portion of the current content aresimultaneously displayed temporarily as a new content region with thenew content slides in the determined direction onto a visible area ofthe display.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least the currentscreen further comprises: a category region containing at least onecategory, the values displayed in the index region subcategorizing thecategory selected in the category region.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein changing the current screen comprises: gradually overlaying thecurrent content region with the new content region, the overlayingoccurring in a direction from a position of the new value to a positionof the visually distinguished one of the values.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein changing the current screen comprises generating the newscreen configured with an index list in which the new value associatedwith the new content is highlighted.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinchanging the current screen comprises moving an emphasis from thevisually distinguished one of the values to the new value.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein detecting a selection input of a new valuecomprises: detecting a tap gesture associated with the selection inputin the index region; and associating the new value with a location ofthe detected tap gesture in the index region.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein detecting a selection input of a new value comprises: detectinga series of touch, move, and lift-off gestures in the index region asthe selection input; and associating the new value with a location ofthe detected touch, move, lift-off gestures in the index region.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein displaying a current screen comprisespresenting the plurality of values in the index region arranged inseries horizontally.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein changing thecurrent screen comprises: presenting, when the new value is positionedto the left of the visually distinguished one of the values, the newcontent in a direction from left to right; and presenting, when the newvalue is positioned to the right of the visually distinguished one ofthe values, the new content in a direction from right to left.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the values in the index region are verticallyarranged in a linear series, the linear series having a top end and abottom end, whereby when a position of the new value as sensed by atouch sensing unit of the mobile device is below the visuallydistinguished one of the values, the new content appears in an upwarddirection, and when the new value is sensed to be positioned above thevisually distinguished one of the values, the new content appears in adownward direction.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the contentregion comprises a time table.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein thereis no intervening content being displayed as the new content appears inthe determined slide direction.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein thereis at least one content between the new content and the current contentthat is not visually displayed as the new content appears in thedetermined slide direction.
 14. A mobile device comprising: a display; atouch sensing unit; at least one processor configured to: cause thedisplay to display a current screen including an index region displayinga plurality of values, and a content region, the content regiondisplaying current content corresponding to a visually distinguished oneof the values; detect a selection input via the touch sensing unit of anew value on the index region; determine a slide direction of newcontent to be displayed, by comparing a difference between the selectednew value and the visually distinguished one of the values, wherein thenew content corresponds to the selected new value; and change thecurrent screen into a new screen, the new screen containing the newcontent, wherein the new content appears in the determined slidedirection in a manner in which a portion of the new content and aportion of the current content are simultaneously displayed temporarilyas a new content region with the new content slides in the determineddirection onto a visible area of the display.
 15. The mobile device ofclaim 14, wherein at least the current screen further comprises acategory region containing at least one category, and the valuesdisplayed in the index region subcategorizing a category selected in thecategory region.
 16. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the changeof the current screen is performed by gradually overlaying the currentcontent region with the new content region, the overlaying occurring ina direction from a position of the new value to a position of thevisually distinguished one of the values
 17. The mobile device of claim14, wherein the change of the current screen is performed by generatingthe new screen configured with an index list in which the new valueassociated with the new content is emphasized.
 18. The mobile device ofclaim 14, wherein the detection of a selection input of a new value isperformed by detecting a tap gesture associated with the selection inputin the index region; and associating the new value with a location ofthe detected tap gesture in the index region.
 19. The mobile device ofclaim 14, wherein the detection of a selection input of a new value isperformed by detecting a series of touch, move, and lift-off gestures inthe index region as the selection input, and associating the new valuewith a location of the detected touch, move, lift-off gestures in theindex region.
 20. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the pluralityof values are arranged in the index region arranged in serieshorizontally.
 21. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein the currentscreen is changed to the new screen by: presenting, when the new valueis positioned to the left of the highlighted value, the new content in adirection from left to right; and presenting, when the new value ispositioned to the right of the highlighted value, the new content in adirection from right to left.
 22. The mobile device of claim 14, whereinthe content region comprises a time table.
 23. The mobile device ofclaim 14, wherein there is no intervening content being displayed as thenew content appears in the determined slide direction.
 24. The mobiledevice of claim 14, wherein there is at least one content between thenew content and the current content that is not visually displayed asthe new content appears in the determined slide direction.
 25. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereinprogram instructions, which when executed by a processor, perform themethod of claim 1.